Elite Eight Hero Kenny Goins Still Paying Back Loan for Freshman Year at Michigan State
The game-winning three-pointer Kenny Goins hit to send Michigan State to the Final Four will live on forever. Hopefully, it doesn't take him that long to pay off his freshman year of college.
In a recent story in The Athletic by Brendan Quinn, it is explained that Goins's family had to take out a $17,000 loan so he could attend Michigan State for his freshman year when he was a walk-on for the basketball team. Goins redshirted that season and earned a scholarship for the following campaign, but, his family is still paying back the loan from his first year as a Spartan.
Goins turned down scholarships from non-Power 5 Division I programs in order to attend Michigan State, which was his dream school growing up. In addition to his affinity for the Spartans, Goins also wanted to go somewhere his mother could watch him play. Laura Goins has needed the assistance of a wheelchair since she underwent surgery for an arteriovenous malformation—a tangling of blood vessels that restricts blood flow and oxygen—that doctors diagnosed in 2006.
While the Goins family still needs to pay up for Kenny's decision, his iconic shot helped Tom Izzo earn a $100,000 bonus from the school and a $25,000 bonus from Nike for coaching the Spartans to the Final Four, according to Steve Berkowitz of USA Today. If Michigan State wins the national championship, Izzo will earn another $150,000 from the university and an extra $50,000 from Nike.
The Spartans will play Texas Tech Saturday in the second Final Four matchup of the night. The winner of that game will face either Virginia or Auburn for the national title on Monday.
In four years on the court for Michigan State Goins has tallied 544 points over 130 games, 52 of which he has started. This season he is averaging career highs across the board with 8.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 blocks and 0.7 steals in 30.3 minutes per game.
